Good news for home buyers with good credit! You can pay less for mortgage insurance (MI).
Radian, a national MI company, announced new rates today. Other MI companies are following suit. (MI is required if your down payment is less than 20 percent.)
New Discount Only For Some
The new discounted rate is only for people with credit scores of 720 or higher.
Home buyers with lower scores will actually pay more than before.
What is the fee disparity? You might be surprised! On a $200,000 loan, it is a $200/mo. difference between top tier and bottom tier credit. Over five years, that is an extra $12,000 you pay for having a score between 620 – 639.
Here is an example.
Conventional Loan 5% Down Payment: $200,000 loan
760 credit score: 0.41% $68/mo.
740 – 759 score: 0.59% $98/mo.
720 – 739 score: 0.73% $121/mo.
700 – 719 score: 0.87% $145/mo.
680 – 699 score: 1.08% $180/mo.
660 – 679 score: 1.42% $236/mo.
640 – 659 score: 1.5% $250/mo.
620 – 639 score: 1.61% $268/mo.
Every 20 points makes a difference in your monthly MI payment. Multiply the figure by 12 to see what you pay in a year and by 60 to see what you pay over five years.
The importance of having good credit cannot be overstated. Increasingly, excellent credit is rewarded while poor or even mediocre credit is penalized.
Please pass on this vital information to people who are getting a home loan, auto loan, or even auto insurance. Some people don’t know this… but you pay higher insurance premiums if your credit is not top tier. Why? Because statistics show that people with high credit scores drive more safely and have fewer traffic violations and accidents.
It only makes sense to take control of your credit rating and save money. What could you do with an extra $12,000 if you didn’t have to pay it out to an MI company?
